


don't say yes, run away now

by angelicaskylar



Category: BLACKPINK (Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-24 17:20:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30075633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelicaskylar/pseuds/angelicaskylar
Summary: Rosé and Jennie have both given up on love. So when their parents decide to set them up, they go with it. But when they go on a weekend getaway with their wedding party, Rosé's feelings for her old friend Jisoo start to resurface. Meanwhile, Jennie finds herself inexplicably drawn to Rosé's maid of honor, Lisa.
Relationships: Jennie Kim/Lalisa Manoban | Lisa, Jennie Kim/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé, Kim Jisoo/Lalisa Manoban | Lisa, Kim Jisoo/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé
Comments: 13
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter 1

Jennie’s parents weren’t bad people. They really weren’t.

Jennie knew they loved her and her sister very much. And she knew they genuinely believed they were helping their girls by pushing them to marry well. The Kims were a wealthy family, and like all wealthy families, they had their share of hangers-on who would never have looked twice at them if they’d been poor. For this reason, the Kims were wary of anyone trying to get close to their daughters with the sole intent of getting access to their money.

The solution was, of course, for them to marry other rich people, and as the Kim girls were both very beautiful they’d had no shortage of suitors. Both parents were wildly successful and well connected in the business world, and they’d had a nearly endless list of men for Jennie’s older sister Aimee to choose from. When Jennie came out to her parents, they’d begun to search for suitable wives with equal fervor. It wasn’t exactly the romance she’d dreamed of as a child, but it could have been a lot worse.

Roseanne Park was beautiful and funny and much more interesting than the rest of the women her parents had introduced her to. On their second date Jennie had cooked kimchi fried rice and Rosé had made a joke about wanting to marry her on the spot. The next week Rosé took her to one of the fanciest restaurants in Seoul and proposed to her with a ring that cost as much as Jennie’s car. There hadn’t been any sparks between the two of them, but Jennie genuinely enjoyed spending time with Rosé and didn’t hate the idea of spending the rest of her life with her.

So, it could have been a lot worse.

And of course, Jennie’s parents made it clear that there would be rewards for obeying their wishes. Jennie knew no expense would be spared for her wedding, just as it had been for her sister’s. Both girls had chosen who would be in their wedding party, and the Kims had suggested an all-expenses-paid (by them, of course) weekend at a hotel in the mountains, culminating with them officially asking the girls to be their bridesmaids. Jennie found the whole thing a bit embarrassingly over the top, but she knew her friends would kill her if they ever found out she’d denied them a free vacation.

And that was how, on a random Friday afternoon by a hotel pool, Jennie’s life changed forever.

()()()

Rosé was currently trying to stave off a panic attack as she looked down at the text on her phone for the 10th time. She’d had weeks to prepare for this moment. And yet somehow the two word text, I’m here, had knocked the air out of her lungs. Jisoo was here. Her childhood best friend who she had barely spoken to in four years.

Who also happened to be the love of her life.

Rosé had been in love with Jisoo as long as she could remember, though it had taken her a while to put a name to the feelings she had for her best friend. In high school they’d become friends with a boy in their class named Namjoon, and the three of them had been inseparable. She had no idea that around the same time she was realizing that her feelings for Jisoo were more than platonic, Namjoon was realizing the same. It was several years later, when Rosé came home from college for the holidays ready to finally confess her feelings, that she learned what had been going on behind the scenes the whole time.

Namjoon had beaten her to the punch. And Jisoo had felt the same way. And now they were dating.

In that instant Rosé lost her best friends in the entire world. She tried to keep hanging out with them, but it was too painful. She couldn’t stand to be around them when they were together, and when it was just her and Jisoo, she was overwhelmed by her feelings. So she withdrew. She stopped taking their calls; first Namjoon’s and then Jisoo’s. She knew her friends probably thought she was tired of being a third wheel, so they didn’t push her too hard. But without them Rosé entered one of the darkest periods of her life, and if it hadn’t been for her college roommate Lisa, she didn’t think she would have survived it.

She had tried so hard to date after that, but nothing ever stuck. No one could ever be Jisoo. And then Jennie had entered the picture; a gorgeous, amazing girl whose parents wanted her to get married to someone like Rosé. It was kind of the perfect solution. Rosé knew that she might never love Jennie with the same intensity that she’d loved Jisoo, but she could certainly see herself being happy with Jennie. And maybe that would have to be good enough.

“Aren’t you coming?” Jennie’s voice from the doorway interrupted her thoughts. Rosé looked up at her fianceé, who was watching her curiously. Jennie looked absolutely stunning in a plaid skirt and tight white polo shirt, and Rosé realized that she felt very underdressed in her t-shirt and sweats. She briefly contemplated changing, but she didn’t want to keep Jennie or Jisoo waiting.

“Okay, let’s go,” Rosé said. 

The two of them headed down the hall to the elevator. When the doors closed, Jennie looked Rosé up and down.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Rosé nodded. “I’m fine.”

“You seem nervous,” Jennie said. “Are you nervous to meet my friends, or for me to meet yours?”

“Maybe both,” Rosé admitted. “I just haven’t seen them in a while. I’m not sure how they’ll react.”

Jennie chuckled. “Mine have already told me I’m insane,” she said. “But I think they’ll understand when they meet you.”

“I hope so,” Rosé said. On top of everything, she had also been slightly dreading meeting Jennie’s friends. She knew their approval meant everything to Jennie. But then, a lot of people’s approval meant everything to Jennie.

They got down to the lobby and Rosé’s eyes scanned the lobby. Suddenly her breath caught in her throat. There she was, standing at the front desk talking to their mutual friend, Nayeon. Rosé was surprised to see that Jisoo hadn’t changed one bit. She wore no makeup and her hair was up in a messy bun, and yet she was absolutely the most beautiful thing Rosé had ever seen. Her heart started pounding and she briefly considered making up an excuse to go back up to the room and pull herself together, but then Nayeon looked up and noticed them.

“Rosé!” she shouted, running through the lobby over to her. Jisoo followed. Nayeon pulled Rosé into a tight hug. “Oh my God how are you?” Not waiting for an answer, she released Rosé and turned to Jennie. “You must be Jennie! Oh my God you’re so beautiful.” As she hugged Jennie, Rosé chanced a look at Jisoo. Jisoo was looking at her, smiling slightly but seeming hesitant. Rosé smiled back. They both laughed awkwardly and then Jisoo stepped forward and pulled Rosé into a hug.

“I missed you Changie,” she said quietly.

“I missed you too,” Rosé said, and in that moment she realized how true her words were. She’d spent so much time in pain over Jisoo not returning her feelings that she hadn’t allowed herself to really feel the loss of her best friend, but now that she was here, Rosé found herself blinking back tears. They pulled out of the hug and Rosé could swear Jisoo’s eyes looked a little shinier than they had before.

“I love your hair,” Jisoo said. The last time they’d seen each other, Rosé’s hair was still her natural black, before she’d gotten into her hair dyeing phase. “The pink is fun.”

“Thanks,” Rosé said. “It’s just temporary. Jennie’s parents would kill me if I had pink hair in any of the engagement photos.”

“Well, I think it would look great in the photos,” Jisoo said. Rosé blushed and there was another awkward silence. Jisoo glanced over at Jennie, who was still being showered with compliments by Nayeon. “So...this is Jennie?”

“Oh! Right. Jennie, this is Jisoo, my best friend from school.” Jennie turned and smiled at Jisoo. 

“Nice to meet you,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Rosé was pretty sure she hadn’t talked about Jisoo to Jennie, but she let it slide.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Jisoo said, shaking hands. The whole exchange was weirdly formal; Rosé couldn’t help but notice Jisoo wasn’t her usual bubbly self. She wasn’t sure if something was wrong or if Jisoo had just become more serious in the years since Rosé had seen her.

Suddenly Jennie looked across the lobby. “Oh, babe, my friends are here,” she said. “I’m gonna go say hi.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a second,” Rosé said. Jennie squeezed her hand and disappeared. Rosé looked back at her two friends.

“So, I can show you guys where your rooms are,” Rosé said.

“Wait for me a sec,” said Nayeon. “I heard they give you free cookies at reception.” She disappeared and Jisoo shook her head, chuckling.

“Nayeon hasn’t changed a bit,” she said.

“Yeah, I know,” Rosé said, smiling.

“Have you seen her a lot recently?” Jisoo asked. The question was casual, but Rosé could hear the unspoken question behind it. Jisoo was wondering if Rosé had cut off all their childhood friends, or if it had just been her.

“A bit,” Rosé said. “Jisoo, listen-”

Jisoo held up a hand. “We don’t need to talk about it right now,” Jisoo said. “I’m just really happy that you asked me to be here.”

“I kept imagining this day and I knew it wouldn’t be right without you,” Rosé said. It was true, Jisoo had always been there when she imagined her wedding, though definitely not as a bridesmaid. “I’m just so sorry that we went so long without talking. I was so scared you’d say no.”

Jisoo smiled, though she seemed sad. “I could never say no to you, Chaengie.”

Nayeon returned at that moment, holding a cookie in one hand and a bag of chocolates in the other. “I told her we were here for a bachelorette party,” she said, “and they gave me candy!” She looked over at Rosé. “She said they have something special for the bride but you have to go get it yourself.”

“Nayeon, this isn’t a bachelorette party,” Rosé said, laughing.

“And how would the front desk possibly know that?” Nayeon took a large bite out of her cookie. “Come on,” she said through a mouthful of food. “Show us where we’re staying.”

Rosé looked at Jisoo. She wanted to continue their conversation, and maybe somehow say sorry for the years she’d spent ignoring her, but it would have to wait.

“Okay,” she said to Nayeon. “Let’s go.”

()()()

It was after lunchtime when Lisa finally arrived at the hotel; she’d had to pick up a shift at work that morning. She knew the other girls had arrived in the morning. Must be nice to be rich, she thought, not for the first time since befriending Rosé. At least this entire weekend was happening on the dime of her best friend’s future in-laws. Hanging out with rich people had its perks, even if their nonchalance sometimes annoyed her.

Lisa had been roommates with Rosé for four years in college, and after graduation they’d gotten a cute apartment together in Seoul. They were practically sisters; barely a month apart in age, they were almost more like twins. It was only in the last year that Rosé had moved across town to be closer to her work. Since then they’d had phone calls and multiple promises to meet for coffee or drinks that hadn’t panned out. Rosé had never been one to talk much about her feelings and Lisa had heard only bits and pieces about her whirlwind romance. She was excited to finally see her friend and she was definitely curious about this Jennie Kim that had so quickly stolen her best friend’s heart.

Lisa entered the lobby and put her sunglasses on top of her head. She spotted her friend immediately; Rosé was sitting on a bench staring at the front door of the hotel in anticipation. When she saw Lisa, she jumped up and practically sprinted across the lobby. Lisa grinned and let her bag drop to the floor. 

“Lisa!” Rosé yelled, jumping into Lisa’s arms. Lisa lifted Rosé off the ground and Rosé gave a squeal. “Jeez, you’re still so strong.”

“Well of course I am,” Lisa said, setting her down. “How could I teach dance glasses without these massive guns?” She flexed and Rosé squeezed her bicep.

“It’s been way too long,” Rosé said.

“I know, what the fuck? You’re engaged! I can’t believe it.”

“I know, I know,” Rosé said. “It was so fast. I didn’t introduce her to any of my friends before today, so don’t worry. You’re not out of the loop.”

“Well I should hope not,” Lisa said. She glanced around. “Where is she?”

“Damn, you’re impatient as ever,” Rosé said. “She’s catching up with her friends. She hasn’t seen them in a while either. God, Lisa, you don’t know how happy I am to see you.” She pulled Lisa into another hug, this one significantly gentler. She rested her head on Lisa’s shoulder and Lisa stroked her back.

“Is everything okay?” she asked. She pulled away and looked into Rosé’s eyes.

“Of course!” Rosé said, though Lisa couldn’t help but notice that her smile seemed slightly forced. “I’ve just really missed you.”

“I missed you too, Rosiepoop,” she said, ruffling Rosé’s hair affectionately.

“Come on, I’ll take you to your room.” Rosé took Lisa’s hand and began leading her to the elevator.

“This hotel is nice,” Lisa said once they were inside the elevator.

“I know, right?” said Rosé. “Jennie’s parents stay here often, apparently.”

“It was really nice of them to do this.”

“Well, don’t give them too much credit. This is just spare change for them.”

Lisa raised her eyebrows. “Damn, for real? And I thought your family was rich.”

“The Kims are like, rich rich,” Rosé said. “They have like, ten houses. It’s insane.”

“Oh, so you’re marrying her for her money. I get it,” Lisa said. Rosé punched her in the arm.

“Shut up,” she said.

“No no, I respect it. I hope I can marry for money. Does Jennie have a sister by any chance?”

“Yes, but she’s married,” Rosé said. “So don’t get any ideas.”

“Damn.”

“So does this mean you’re not seeing anyone?” Rosé asked. “Still living the single life?”

The elevator stopped and Rosé stepped out and led them down the hall. “Yeah, still single,” Lisa said. “Actually, this might be a good place for me to find a date for your wedding. I bet there’s lots of hot chicks here.”

“Lisa-yah, don’t tell me my engagement is making you into a romantic?”

“No way,” Lisa replied. “I just know that your wedding is going to be absolutely insane and there’s no way I’m showing up to the event of the year alone.”

“Well I’m sure you’ll have plenty of girls lining up to go with you. This is yours,” Rosé said, turning to one of the doors and sliding the key in. They walked into the room and Lisa was blown away. She was standing in a huge living room with giant sliding doors leading to a balcony that had a great view of the mountains. There was a kitchenette in the corner and a door leading off to a bedroom.

“Wow,” Lisa said. “This is really something. I can’t wait to see what the honeymoon suite looks like.”

“Ha ha,” said Rosé. “Actually, my room looks like yours. Jennie’s parents got us separate rooms. They’re kind of...traditional.”

Lisa snorted. “I guess I shouldn’t tell them what you were up to in college, then.”

“You better not!” Rosé said. “Anyway, I’ll let you get settled in. Do you wanna go down to the pool? I think the other girls said they were going there. You can meet the future Mrs. Park.”

Lisa smiled. “Perfect,” she said. 

“Get changed and settled and you can meet us down there.” Rosé left and Lisa dragged her suitcase into her room. She flopped down on the bed and sighed contentedly. It had been a while since she’d had a vacation.

After a few minutes of admiring her suite, Lisa rummaged through her bag and found the new bikini she’d bought for the occasion. It was black, with a criss cross of fabric in the front that accentuated the curve of her breasts. Lisa admired herself in the mirror before heading down to the lobby. She had been joking around with Rosé when she’d talked about finding a date here; she actually hadn’t dated much in some time. The joy of meaningless hookups was starting to wear off. She’d found herself lately wanting a proper girlfriend, though of course she’d never admit that to Rosé. She had a reputation to uphold, after all.

But she also knew she looked damn good, and it would be a waste if no one got to appreciate it.

Lisa got to the door leading to the pool area and stepped out into the warm sun. Of course, like the rest of the hotel, the pool area was five star. The pool was gigantic and there were at least three hot tubs. She glanced around looking for Rosé, but got distracted when she caught sight of something else.

A hot girl. More precisely, a hot girl’s ass attached to what Lisa assumed was a hot girl. Lisa could only see her back as she was standing by herself at the tiki bar. She had long black hair that went down to the middle of her back and she was wearing a blue string bikini that didn’t leave much to the imagination. Lisa smirked. Old habits, she thought to herself. Still, a drink sounded nice. There was no harm in heading over there.

Lisa reached the bar and leaned against it. She tossed her hair over her shoulder before surreptitiously glancing to the sidel. Somehow, the girl’s face was even more stunning than her body. Her full lips were pursed as she looked thoughtfully up at the menu. 

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked. The girl looked down at him and blinked. God, her eyes, Lisa thought. Her eyes were large and almond shaped and Lisa could already see herself getting lost in them. This was possibly the most beautiful girl Lisa had ever seen in her life.

“Four strawberry daiquiris please,” the girl said, and the bartender turned away. Lisa took off her sunglasses and chewed lightly on the end of them, a trick she often used to draw attention to her lips. She was sure there was almost no chance that this girl was single or even interested in girls but she had to shoot her shot.

“Wow, you must be thirsty,” she said.

She mentally slapped herself. Worst pickup line ever.

The girl turned towards her and smirked. “Just a little,” she said. Lisa thought she saw the girl’s eyes flick up and down Lisa’s body, but she was probably imagining it.

“Have you been here before?” Lisa asked.

The girl nodded. “A few times.” 

“What do you recommend?” 

“Hmm,” the girl said thoughtfully. “Don’t get the beer. It’s way overpriced and it’s not even on tap. The margaritas are good. I personally like the daiquiris. Basically anything that resembles a slushie with alcohol is a solid choice.”

“Nice,” Lisa nodded. “Hard to go wrong with that.” 

“First time at this hotel?” the girl asked. Lisa’s bit back a smile. The girl was continuing the conversation. Score.

“Yeah, I just got here today,” she said. “Any suggestions?”

“Well, there’s a lot of clubs in the area if you’re into that sort of thing,” the girl said. “Though I mostly come here to get away from the city. There’s a really nice lake nearby.”

“That sounds awesome,” Lisa said. “I love nature.” She wondered if maybe she could ask the girl to go with her.

“So what brings you here?” the girl asked.

“Actually, my friend-” Lisa began but she was cut off by a familiar voice.

“Oh, you two have met!” exclaimed Rosé, sliding up and wrapping an arm around the girl’s waist. The girl leaned up and kissed Rosé and Lisa felt her jaw drop.

“Oh my God,” she said, shaking her head quickly. “You’re Jennie. I had no idea. I’m Lisa.”

Jennie smiled at her and then at Rosé. “We hadn’t actually gotten around to introductions yet,” she said. She held out a hand. “Rosé’s maid of honor, right?”

“That’s me,” Lisa said, shaking Jennie’s hand quickly. She hoped her face didn’t show the horror she felt at realizing she’d been hitting on her best friend’s fianceé.

The bartender placed four glasses on the bar and filled them with red slush from the blender. “Here you are ma’am,” he said. “Uh, do you need a tray or something?”

“I’ll help you,” Rosé said, taking two of the glasses in her hand. 

“Thanks babe,” Jennie said, grabbing the other two. She turned with a smile. “Nice to meet you, Lisa.”

The sound of her name on Jennie’s lips made Lisa’s words stick in her throat. “Y-you too,” she stuttered.

“Come join us when you get your drink,” Rosé said, and then the two of them were gone.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked.

“Uh…” Lisa’s head was spinning. “Same thing she had.” She couldn’t even remember the name of the drink, such was the whiplash her brain had just endured.

The bartender filled a glass with the remaining daiquiri he’d made for Jennie. “On the house,” he said, placing it in front of Lisa.

“Why?” Lisa asked in surprise.

“Because I saw what just happened to you.”

“Oh God,” Lisa said. She put her elbows down on the bar and put her head in her hands. “Was it that obvious?”

“Yes.” The bartender turned to take another order and Lisa took a large sip from her drink before heading off to where she saw Rosé and Jennie gathered with a group of girls. 

This was going to be a long weekend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and story are rated R! Also I don't really know much about the non-blackpink girls so I'm very sorry if they seem out of character.
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to my girlfriend Dani for making this story infinitely better (and longer) than I initially planned :-)

Jennie had heard a lot about Lisa. 

She seemed to feature in almost every one of Rosé’s stories, through which Jennie had learned that Lisa was many things: a flirt, a hardworking student, a pain in the ass and a fiercely loyal best friend. Rosé had talked about Lisa so much that Jennie had even found herself getting jealous; not because of her relationship with Rosé, but because she longed to have that kind of friendship with someone. She knew Lisa held a special place in Rosé’s life and for that reason Lisa had been the person Jennie was most anxious to meet.

Yet somehow the real Lisa had been nothing like she’d expected. 

She couldn’t deny that she’d felt a little thrill when Lisa had approached her at the bar. Jennie didn’t spend time in gay clubs or talk about her sexuality, so she never got hit on by random girls. Here at the poolside bar was not where she’d expected it to first happen, but she could tell instantly that Lisa was not the kind of girl who cared about the possibility of rejection. In fact, the confidence was part of her appeal and Jennie was sure Lisa knew that. But she could tell by the look on Lisa’s face when she’d learned who Jennie was that she was genuinely surprised by the revelation, and would not have approached her had she known.

Lisa was walking towards them now, drink in hand. In fact, it was the very same drink Jennie had suggested she order, not that that meant anything, of course. She had her sunglasses back on and Jennie found herself grateful for that. The first thing she always noticed about a girl were her eyes, and Lisa’s were...distracting. 

“Guys, this is my maid of honor, Lisa,” Rosé said when Lisa came within earshot. Lisa waved awkwardly.

“Hi Lisa,” Nayeon said immediately. “I don’t know if you remember me, I’m Nayeon. We met at Rosé’s New Years Eve party forever ago.”

“Yeah! I remember you,” Lisa said. “And…” she pointed, “Jisoo, right?”

“Yep,” Jisoo said with a smile. “Hey.”

“And this is my sister, Alice,” Rosé said, motioning to the girl sitting on the chair across from them.. “She lives in Australia but she’s gonna be in Seoul for a few weeks.”

“Can’t believe I’m meeting the famous Lisa,” Alice said, reaching out a hand.

“Uh oh, didn’t know I was famous,” Lisa said, laughing and blushing slightly. She shook Alice’s hand.

“And then you just met Jennie,” Rosé continued, and Jennie saw that Lisa looked at her only very briefly before turning away. Clearly, she was embarrassed about the way they’d met. “Then there’s Jennie’s maid of honor…”

“Seulgi,” the girl said. “And this is Wendy and Irene.” The two girls waved in turn as Seulgi pointed. “We’re Jennie’s friends from school.”

“Nice to meet you guys,” she said. Lisa sat down on the end of the chair where Jisoo was reclining. She glanced around at the girls. “Um, is there supposed to be one more?”

Jennie felt a dark cloud come over her as she remembered the text she’d received late last night. “My sister,” she said tersely. “She couldn’t make it. Work thing.”

“Ah.” Lisa seemed to understand that Jennie was upset and did not press the subject further.

“So you’re last!” Naeyon said. “Which means you need to drink, ‘cause I’ve been going since eight in the morning.”

“Nayeon, you got here at ten,” Rosé said.

“And what about it?”

All the girls laughed except Jisoo, who rolled her eyes. “Literally a public nuisance,” she said, before laying back and putting a towel over her face.

“Well,” Rosé said, placing her hand down on Jennie’s thigh. “I’m gonna swim. Who’s with me?”

“Meee,” Nayeon said, jumping up.

“I’ll be there when I finish this,” Lisa said, holding up her drink.

Rosé turned to her. “Jennie?”

For some reason Jennie found herself looking out of the corner of her eye at Lisa. Lisa was looking down at her phone but her eyes weren’t moving; she was clearly waiting to hear Jennie’s response.

Jennie decided not to torment the poor girl anymore. “Yeah, coming,” she said.

After spending some time in the pool getting splashed by Nayeon, she and her friends went back for another round of drinks. Jennie started to feel a nice buzz from the alcohol and the sun. She realized she hadn’t had time to relax in weeks.

“Hey Jen!” Rosé called out. “We’re gonna play volleyball. Wanna join?”

Jennie looked over and saw Lisa standing next to Rosé, twirling a volleyball in her hand. The sunglasses were off now and she was looking at Jennie with the same piercing gaze she had at the bar. “I’ll just watch,” Jennie said quickly. The girls headed over to the sandy court next to the pool and Jennie picked up her towel and followed.

Jennie found a nice spot to set down her towel as Rosé and Lisa approached some kids who were playing on the court. They appeared to have some sort of heated conversation; eventually the taller kid stayed next to Rosé to one side of the net while the two little ones joined Lisa. Jennie smiled as Lisa gave them both high fives.

The game started and immediately got competitive. Rosé and her teammate couldn’t seem to agree on what positions to play and Jennie watched in amusement as her fianceé argued with what appeared to be a twelve year old boy. Lisa seemed to have dealt with her teammates by not letting them do anything, and eventually the kids seemed to give up and leave, which was undoubtedly what Lisa and Rosé had originally wanted. Jennie made a mental note to scold Rosé for that later.

She leaned back on her hands and stared absently at Lisa while she played. Rosé had mentioned she was a dancer, and Jennie could tell she had the body for it. She was very slim, but her bikini revealed well defined abs and her strength was evident as she jumped to deliver a scoring spike. Her short black hair was pulled back into a little ponytail and she kept brushing her bangs out of her face.

Seulgi sat down next to Jennie and lifted her sunglasses, following Jennie’s gaze. “Damn,” she said. “That’s a nice view.”

Jennie snapped her head towards Seulgi, feeling like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “What do you mean?” she asked nervously.

“Your fianceé,” she said, tilting her head towards Rosé. 

“Oh.” Jennie felt her shoulders relax as she turned back towards the game. “Yeah, definitely.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Seulgi looking at her suspiciously. “Her friend is hot, too,” she said, watching for Jennie’s reaction. 

Jennie shrugged. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Mhm.” 

Jennie was about to protest further but luckily Irene appeared at that moment, flopping down on the sand next to Seulgi. 

“Ah, volleyball,” she said. “What a beautiful sport.”

Seulgi poked Irene in the side. “You should get out there and play,” she said with a smirk. 

“Jeez, can you guys stop perving for one second?” Jennie said.

“Sorry,” Seulgi said. She looked at Irene. “We’re turning Jennie on.”

“Oh my God, you guys.” Jennie turned away from them. Her face felt hot and she was pretty sure it wasn’t the sun.

The volleyball game went on for another ten minutes before Lisa and Rosé decided to go back to the pool to cool off. The rest of the girls went with them, and they spent another hour or so there before Nayeon fell asleep sitting up in her chair and they all decided to go get some rest before dinner. 

As they stepped into the hotel lobby, Jennie shivered at the sudden blast of cold from the air conditioning. The girls all squealed and hurried towards the elevator, eager to get back to their rooms and take a shower. As they all crammed inside, Jennie found herself standing right across from Lisa. Unconsciously, her eyes began to wander lower. Lisa’s wet swimsuit was clinging to her body and the cold had caused her nipples to harden, which Jennie could see quite clearly through the fabric. She turned away quickly. What had gotten into her? Must be the rum, she thought.

When she looked back up, she was shocked to see that Lisa was looking right at her. They held each other’s gaze for what was probably only a second, but it felt like the moment stretched on and on before Lisa finally turned away. Jennie felt a chill go down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold. Had she been caught?

They got to their floor and the girls began to scatter. Jennie found Rosé’s hand.

“Come to my room,” she said. 

Rosé turned. “Sure,” she said. “Lemme just shower and then I’ll be right over.”

Jennie took both Rosé’s other hand and leaned in towards her ear. “Shower with me,” she whispered.

She felt Rosé tense against her and nod. Without another word Jennie led them into her room, through the bedroom into the large bathroom. She reached into the walk in shower and turned on the tap. Then she turned to Rosé and pulled her close, tilting her head upward, and Rosé leaned down to capture Jennie’s lips.

Without breaking contact, Rosé walked them into the shower under the warm stream of water and pressed Jennie against the shower wall. Jennie gasped as she felt the cold tile on her back. She lifted a leg to wrap it around Rosé’s waist and Rosé moaned and pressed her hips into Jennie’s. Jennie could count the times she had Rosé had fucked on one hand, but up until now had been gentle, uncertain as they learned each other’s bodies. This was different. The kiss was all tongue and teeth and Jennie could feel the heat between Rosé’s legs just millimeters away from her own.

Rosé reached down and slipped a hand into the fabric of Jennie’s swimsuit. Jennie gasped as the pads of Rosé’s fingers brushed against her clit. She bucked her hips forward and Rosé pulled back slightly. “Don’t tease me,” Jennie said breathlessly. “I wanna come.”

“So eager,” Rosé teased, but her eyes looked hungry. She returned the pressure, more forcefully this time, and Jennie leaned her head back and moaned. Rosé pressed her lips against Jennie’s exposed neck, sucking and licking at the sensitive skin.

“Please,” Jennie gasped. “I need you inside.”

Rosé tugged at the string on the side of Jennie’s bikini and it came undone immediately. “That’s convenient,” she smirked, pulling at the other side and letting the swimsuit fall to the ground. She ran her fingers up and down Jennie’s slit, and Jennie could hear how wet she was by the sound of fingers sliding through her folds. Rosé tentatively inserted a finger inside and Jennie groaned.

“God,” she said. “That feels so fucking good.”

She grabbed Rosé by the back of her head and pulled her in for a sloppy kiss as Rosé began to thrust her finger inside of her. Jennie was not one to be vocal during sex, but whether it was the alcohol or the circumstance, all sense of propriety had gone out the window. She was moaning like she hadn’t been fucked in years and she could feel by her response that Rosé was enjoying it. 

“You’re so fucking hot,” Rosé growled into her ear before nipping at it lightly.

“Another one,” she gasped, and Rosé wasted no time shoving another finger inside. Jennie let out a mess of unintelligible words as Rosé’s fingers filled her. The tension that had been building inside of her all afternoon was reaching a breaking point, and Jennie needed a release. she began to move her hips fast, forcing Rosé’s fingers deeper and deeper inside.

Rosé began to press against Jennie’s clit with her thumb and Jennie knew she was close. She tightened her leg that was around Rosé’s waist as she felt her other leg becoming increasingly unable to support her weight. In response, Rosé grabbed Jennie’s ass, holding her up. Jennie leaned forward and buried her face in the crook of Rosé’s neck as she felt the orgasm building in the pit of her stomach. And with her eyes screwed shut and the feeling of Rosé’s fingers inside her, she suddenly found herself back in the elevator, the cold heightening every sense in her body as she stared into a pair of dark brown eyes that were staring back hungrily, pupils dilated with want.

Lisa.

“Fuck!” Jennie choked out as her orgasm ripped through her. She bit down on Rosé’s shoulder as pleasure moved through every inch of her body. Rosé continued to thrust into her roughly until Jennie felt herself go weak. She opened her eyes and saw that she’d broken the skin near Rosé’s collarbone.

“I’m so sorry,” she breathed.

“It’s fine.” Rosé sounded equally breathless. “It didn’t hurt at all.”

Jennie leaned back and looked into Rosé’s face. Sweet, beautiful Rosé. Her future wife. Rosé was the reason she still had an ache between her legs, still felt unsatisfied. She had to be the reason.

Jennie wasted no more time. She grabbed Rosé’s waist and flipped them. Then she slowly began to kneel, kissing her way down Rosé’s stomach as she did so. When her knees hit the ground, her lips were aligned with the waistband of Rosé’s swimsuit. 

She glanced up at Rosé, looking for confirmation that this was okay. Rosé had her head tilted back towards the ceiling and she placed a hand on Jennie’s head, gently urging her onward. Jennie pulled her swimsuit down slowly, pressing her lips against the soft, short hairs she found underneath. This was new territory for them; Rosé had gone down on Jennie but Jennie had not yet returned the favor. She licked slowly across Rosé’s slit, tasting her wetness, and she felt Rosé shudder against her.

“Wow, Jennie,” she gasped, threading her fingers through Jennie’s hair and tightening her hold. Jennie did it again, more firmly this time, using her hands to urge Rosé’s legs apart. She swirled her tongue around Rosé’s entrance before thrusting it inside, 

“Touch yourself,” Jennie commanded and Rosé didn’t need telling twice. Her hand snaked down between herself and Jennie’s forehead as she began to rub her clit furiously. Jennie continued to fuck Rosé with her tongue, wrapping her arms around Rosé’s legs to steady their shaking. She scratched her nails across the soft skin and Rosé gasped as her muscles tightened. She came hard in Jennie’s mouth and Jennie lapped up the wetness eagerly.

When Rosé’s legs stilled Jennie pulled away and looked up. Rosé was staring straight ahead, chest heaving. “Wow,” she breathed. “That was uh...wow.”

“Good?” Jennie stood up and pulled Rosé away from the wall and under the shower stream.

“Yes, obviously,” Rosé said. “And also...unexpected.”

Jennie smiled and shrugged but as she turned to grab the shampoo her smile faltered slightly as she remembered what had gone through her mind as she was coming undone. It doesn’t mean anything, she told herself. It wasn’t like getting married meant she was never going to find another girl attractive. Lisa was objectively beautiful the way that art was beautiful and that’s why her face had popped into Jennie’s mind. The timing had just been unfortunate.

She squeezed her shampoo into her hand and handed the bottle to Rosé. “Come on,” she said. “Wash up. There’s still several places in this suite where I want to have you.”

()()()

Lisa was pretty sure this was the nicest restaurant she’d ever been in.. She hadn’t expected that the restaurant in the hotel lobby would have a Michelin star, but she’d clearly underestimated them. As they waited for Rosé and Jennie to join them, Lisa flipped through the menu, trying to decipher the food offerings. They were all in French.

This really wasn’t the type of place she felt at home, and it didn’t help that they appeared to be the youngest patrons in the restaurant by far. Lisa had spent over an hour trying to piece together an outfit from the clothes she’d brought before giving up and going to borrow something from Rosé. She was wearing a cute if not overly formal red dress with white polka dots, along with a pair of black heeled boots (she would have loved to borrow a pair of heels but sadly she and Rosé did not share a shoe size). Yet now surrounded by elegant designer clothes, she felt underdressed.

Lisa glanced around at the other girls. To one side of her, Nayeon was turned away, talking to Jisoo too quietly for Lisa to hear. On her other side, Alice was staring intently down at her phone. Wendy, Seulgi, and Irene were sitting across the table. Irene was telling them some story about a girl they knew and Lisa listened absentmindedly, wishing she had something to do with her hands.

“Dammit, Rosé totally took my clothes without asking,” Alice said suddenly from beside her. Lisa looked up. Rosé and Jennie were heading towards their table, Rosé in a sleek black pantsuit and a white button down shirt that was unbuttoned way lower than strictly necessary. But Lisa barely registered her friend’s outfit as her eyes were drawn instantly to Jennie. She could swear heads were turning as Jennie strode confidently towards their table, looking like a model on the runway in her pale blue classic Chanel tweed suit. Her jacket was not over her arms but simply resting on her shoulders, showing off a tight scoop neck white t-shirt tucked into perfectly tailored pants that emphasized her narrow waistline. Lisa could not imagine ever looking that good in her entire life. She greatly admired Jennie’s fashion sense and told herself that’s why she couldn’t take her eyes off her.

Yeah, right.

“Sorry we’re late,” Rosé said when they reached the table. She glanced at Jennie and the two of them giggled. 

“Gross,” Seulgi muttered. 

Rosé made a show of pulling out Jennie’s chair for her, taking Jennie’s jacket and draping it over the back. Lisa almost laughed. The whole situation was so bizarre; her goofy, awkward best friend getting engaged to the world’s most beautiful woman and suddenly acting like the Prince of Wales. Lisa wondered if this was going to be a permanent change. Maybe she and Rosé would grow apart once Rosé got married and became a family woman.

When Jennie sat down, she looked around the rest of the table, smiling. Her eyes landed on Lisa and Lisa felt her heart rate quicken. As much as she’d tried to see Jennie in a different light since learning she was engaged to her best friend, she couldn’t seem to shake that initial feeling she’d had when she and Jennie had first spoken. There was something incredibly alluring about her that went beyond just her beauty. The way she looked at Lisa made her feel like she was being seen in a way that she’d never been seen before. 

One thing was certain: she and Rosé would definitely grow apart if Lisa couldn’t find a way to stop drooling over her wife.

Their appetizers and wine arrived and a cheery mood settled about the table. As the only one who hadn’t been a childhood friend of one of the brides, Lisa mostly stayed quiet and helped herself to copious amounts of bread. Across the table, Rosé was telling some story about the moment she knew she wanted to marry Jennie. Lisa hadn’t fully been listening but she gathered that it was something food related, which didn’t surprise her.

“I’m not saying I only wanted to marry Jennie because of her kimchi fried rice,” Rosé was saying. “It’s just the main reason.”

“That’s my Rosé,” Jennie said as her friends laughed.. She put her hand on her fianceé’s shoulder, and as she did so a beam of light glinted off of her finger towards Lisa’s face. Lisa looked for the source and nearly choked on her salad when she saw it.

“Are you okay Lisa?” Rosé asked as Lisa coughed and reached for her water. Nayeon punched her in the back. 

“I’m fine,” Lisa gasped. She gulped down some water and looked up, embarrassed to see that Jennie was looking at her with concern. “That’s a beautiful ring,” she said.

Jennie smiled. “Isn’t it?” She held out her hand and the attention was mercifully turned away from Lisa as the other girls began to ooh and ahh. Lisa couldn’t even imagine Rosé, whose favorite place to get clothes was thrift shops, buying such a thing. She glanced over at Rosé, who wasn’t even looking at the ring. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

“If she was wearing that rock at the pool, I wouldn’t have hit on her,” Lisa mumbled.

“What?” 

Lisa’s head snapped up. She’d accidentally spoken out loud and it had gotten Alice’s attention.

“Nothing,” she said quickly, turning back to her food.

After dessert, the girls began to disperse. Jennie said she was going to go work out, which Lisa thought sounded like a borderline psychopathic thing to do after dinner, but then again it seemed to fit with what she’d learned about Jennie so far. A few minutes later, Irene and Seulgi said they were heading to bed. Lisa lingered for a while as the other girls left, listening to Alice tell amusing stories about Rosé’s childhood. Eventually Alice too decided to turn in for the night, and Lisa found herself alone. She thought about going up to bed but she wasn’t tired in the slightest. She noticed that Jisoo had wandered over to the bar sometime ago, and went over to join her.

“Hey,” she said. 

Jisoo was staring into an empty glass and barely looked up when Lisa sat down. “Hey,” she replied quietly.

“Not tired yet?” Lisa asked.

“Nah, gonna stay here a bit,” Jisoo said. As she spoke, the bartender placed a fresh martini in front of her. “Thanks,” she mumbled before picking up the glass and taking a long sip.

“Anything for you?” the bartender asked Lisa.

“OB Golden Lager,” Lisa replied. The bartender left and Jisoo turned to her.

“So,” Jisoo said. “You’ve probably spent more time with the happy couple than I have.”

“Actually, no,” Lisa said. “I just met Jennie today.”

“Same,” Jisoo replied. She looked distinctly displeased.

“If it makes you feel better, Rosé said she didn’t introduce Jennie to any of her friends before this,” Lisa said, hoping that would cheer Jisoo up a bit.

“Mhm,” was all Jisoo replied. She pulled the olive out of her drink and set it down on her napkin. “Be honest with me, Lisa. What do you think of this?”

“This being…”

“The engagement. Jennie. Rosé acting like a clown.”

Lisa laughed at that. She thought for a moment, wanting to choose her words carefully seeing as she and Jisoo had only just met. “It’s...different than her usual,” Lisa admitted. “But I haven’t seen her since she went to go work for her dad’s company. I think she’s just a little more serious now.”

“So you think this is her parents’ influence?” 

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you’ve thought it.”

Lisa was taken aback by Jisoo’s bluntness. Yes, the thought that this was Rosé’s parents exerting their typical pressure on her had crossed her mind. But Rosé had never been one to listen to her parents. Why would she start now?

“Well, Jennie seems nice,” Lisa said, trying to steer the conversation away from dangerous waters.

“Yeah, sure, she’s very nice,” Jisoo said, pulling the toothpick out of her olive and stabbing it back in violently. There was definitely bitterness in her voice, as well as a slight slur. She was definitely drunk.

The bartender brought Lisa’s beer and Lisa sipped it, trying to think of what to say. She wanted to know what Jisoo’s problem was with Jennie, but the other girl wasn’t being very forthcoming.

“This was never supposed to happen,” Jisoo said suddenly.

“Hm?” Lisa looked up in surprise.

“Chaeng getting married to someone who isn’t me.”

The confession hung in the air for a moment as Lisa tried to process what she’d just head.

“Wait,” she began, “You two used to…?” She trailed off, uncertain as to the extent of their relationship.

“We didn’t date,” Jisoo clarified.

“But…”

“But I’m in love with her.”

“Wow.” Lisa let out a low whistle. “Damn. Does she know?”

Jisoo shook her head. “Nope. I never got the chance to tell her. I thought she might have felt the same way at some point but, well,” she smiled wryly. “Guess I was wrong.” 

“Hang on,” Lisa said. “Start from the beginning.”

Jisoo sighed and took another sip of her drink.

“Chaeng and I--Rosé, whatever, I always called her Chaeng--were best friends since we were little.”

“Okay,” Lisa said.

“I don’t know what changed. But suddenly everything was just...different between us. Confusing. We used to always hug and hold hands and then suddenly it was like there was this tension between us. Like it felt good but also...bad. Scary. I wanted to be around her all the time but I also felt like I almost couldn’t handle it, and so I pushed her away. Am I making any sense?”

“Actually, yeah,” Lisa said, thinking back to when she’d first realized she liked girls. “It makes a lot of sense..”

“When we went to different colleges, it was almost a relief,” Jisoo continued. “I started to feel more in control. And I thought maybe things would go back to normal.”

She paused to take a drink and Lisa listened with rapt attention. She had never heard any of this before. She wondered what else about her life Rosé had never told her.

“And then our friend Namjoon asked me out. I’d never had a boyfriend before and he was cute, I liked him. And it wasn’t as...intense, you know, with him. Which at the time I thought meant that it was right. But actually, that’s when everything went to shit.”

“What happened?”

“Chaeng, Namjoon, and I had been best friends, but after that Chaeng just got really distant. I couldn’t tell if she was mad at me or just felt like the dynamic had changed. I guess some part of me hoped that maybe she was jealous of Namjoon, but I doubt it. Anyway, we talked less and less and then at some point, though neither of us knew it then, we saw each other for the last time. Until today.”

Lisa let out a long breath. “Wow,” she said. “That’s...a lot. Are you still with him?”

“Namjoon?” Jisoo shook her head. “No. It took me a while to realize it but what we had wasn’t love. At least not on my end. When I looked back on my whole life, it’s like...it was always her, you know? Not a day went by when I didn’t think about her. Especially these last four years.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell her?” Lisa asked.

Jisoo laughed humorlessly. “I was going to,” she said. “Until Nayeon told me she was getting engaged. Imagine my surprise upon hearing that.”

“Oof,” Lisa said. She couldn’t imagine the pain Jisoo must be feeling. “And now here you are, her bridesmaid.”

“Yup,” Jisoo said.

“That fucking sucks.”

Jisoo scoffed. “Yeah, understatement of the year.”

“Why did you say yes?”

“How could I say no? She’s my best friend and the love of my life. I need to be here for her, even if it’s just…as a friend.” She took a deep breath. “It’s for the best, anyway. She deserves better than me.”

“Hey,” Lisa said, reaching forward and placing a hand on top of Jisoo’s. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true,” Jisoo said. “I was a coward. I’ve played it over and over in my mind, every interaction we ever had, and I think that maybe, just maybe, she felt it too. And that if I hadn’t been so afraid, if I hadn’t spent all that time trying to push my feelings away then maybe…” her voice started to crack. “Maybe it’d be me with that ring right now.”

“Well if you did have it, I’d urge you to sell it for something sensible” Lisa said, trying to lighten the mood. “That ring could pay off my student loans.”

Jisoo gave a watery chuckle. She pulled her hand away and wiped at her eyes. “Dammit, I told myself I wasn’t gonna cry this weekend.”

“Don’t even worry about that,” Lisa said. “You deserve a good cry. Come on, let it out.”

Jisoo picked up a napkin and wiped at the tears that continued to flow. “It’s just that I never cry,” she said. “But to be honest I’m pretty drunk right now.”

“Yeah…” Lisa said. “About that. Maybe it’s time to cut you off..”

“Or I should have more,” Jisoo said. “I just can’t stay at this level, I have to go up or down.” Suddenly she stopped crying and sat up straight, waving the bartender over. “Can we get two vodka shots please? And another martini.”

Lisa felt this was probably the opposite of what she should be doing, but she didn’t know Jisoo well enough to argue. And anyway, she sympathized. If she was a bridesmaid in the love of her life’s wedding she’d probably be drinking too.

The shots came and Jisoo raised hers in a toast. Lisa downed hers quickly and drained the rest of her beer as a chaser. She grimaced. “You know,” Jisoo said, seemingly unfazed by the taste of the vodka. “I’ve never told anyone about this before.”

Lisa smiled. “Well, I feel honored that you told me.”

“Oh, and if I hear you’ve told anyone about it, I will kill you. Like for real. I know how to shoot a gun.”

“Really?”

“No.”

Lisa laughed. “Well, don’t worry,” she said. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thanks,” Jisoo said. She reached out as if to place her hand on Lisa’s, but missed and knocked over Lisa’s thankfully empty beer glass instead. “Oops.”

“Ohhkay,” Lisa said. “You are very drunk. Come on. Lemme take you back to your room.”

Jisoo thankfully didn’t argue. She slid off her barstool and seemed to sway momentarily on the spot. Lisa left a tip for the bartender on the table and wrapped one of Jisoo’s arms around her shoulder. 

“I’m sorry for being like this,” Jisoo mumbled as Lisa pulled her towards the elevator.

“It’s okay,” Lisa said. “It’s a girls’ trip. I was expecting to be taking care of at least one drunk person.”

“This elevator is cool,” Jisoo said once they stepped inside.

Lisa looked around the inside of the very average elevator car. “Yeah, it is,” she said. The alcohol Jisoo had just consumed was clearly hitting.

“That’s Chaengie’s dress,” Jisoo said. Lisa looked at her and saw that her eyes were fixed on Lisa’s body.

“Hm? Oh, yeah. I borrowed it.”

“I recognize it. She’s had it a long time. It’s pretty,” Jisoo said. “You look very pretty.”

“Thanks.”

The elevator arrived on their floor and they stepped out. Jisoo nearly toppled over and Lisa had to grab her again.

“Almost there,” she said. “Which way is your room?”

“This way.” Jisoo pulled Lisa down the hall. “This one’s mine,” She fumbled around in her purse and pulled her card key. Lisa watched her try several times to slide it into the slot until she finally grabbed it from Jisoo’s hand and opened the door. “Thanks,” Jisoo chuckled, leaning on the doorframe and turning towards Lisa. She swayed on the spot and Lisa held firm to her arms.

“You sure you’re okay?” Lisa asked.

“Yes,”Jisoo breathed. Then she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Lisa’s.

Lisa’s eyes fluttered closed instinctively before she could register what was happening. Jisoo tangled her hands in Lisa’s hair and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. For a moment, Lisa’s mind went blank, registering only the feeling of Jisoo’s tongue against hers, the taste of vodka on her lips.

Then she suddenly remembered herself and pulled away. Jisoo’s head was still angled up towards her, eyes closed. Lisa placed her hands on Jisoo’s hips and pushed her into the room, letting the door close behind them.

“Come on,” she said. “You’re drunk. Let’s get you to bed.”

“To bed, huh?” Jisoo asked teasingly.

“Not like that,” Lisa said, pulling Jisoo through the suite to the bedroom. “You’re going to bed alone. Where are your pajamas?”

“Drawer,” Jisoo said, flopping down on the bed. She kicked her shoes off and crawled towards the pillow. Lisa walked to the dresser and searched the drawers until she found a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. 

“Here,” Lisa said, tossing the clothes onto the bed. “Get dressed. I’ll get you some water.”

“Lisa, wait.” Jisoo was laying on the bed with her head propped up on her hand, her long black hair falling messily in waves around her face. She looked at Lisa with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “It doesn’t have to mean anything.”

Lisa’s swallowed hard. Her eyes trailed over the smudged lipstick on Jisoo’s lips, the lipstick she knew was probably now on her own mouth. 

“No,” she said firmly, as much to herself as to Jisoo. “You’re beautiful but you’re also very drunk and very in love with someone else.”

Lisa instantly felt bad for bringing up Rosé, as Jisoo’s face clouded over with pain once again. She laid her head down and closed her eyes. “I’ll get the water,” Lisa said quickly. She walked out to the kitchenette and filled a glass from the tap, taking a moment to wipe off her face and process what had just happened.

When she returned Jisoo was sound asleep on top of the covers, still wearing her dress. Lisa sighed and placed the water on the table next to the bed. She grabbed an extra blanket from the closet and tucked it gently over Jisoo’s body. Then she found the hotel stationary and scrawled a quick note, with her phone number and a message for Jisoo to call her if she needed anything.

Then Lisa quietly left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Rosé breathed in deeply, enjoying the fresh night air. When Nayeon had suggested a walk, she’d jumped at the chance, wanting nothing more than to get out of the restaurant. The whole dinner had been stifling, from the atmosphere to the conversation, even to the clothes she was wearing, which were Alice’s and slightly too small. She could tell that Jennie’s friends seemed a bit suspicious of how fast their relationship had moved, and though she thought she did an okay job charming them, it had been stressful. Plus, Rosé had never felt comfortable in fancy restaurants. Even though her family was wealthy, it just wasn’t their scene. She knew she’d have to start adjusting to it, though, as she became part of the Kim family.

She let her mind drift as her friend’s constant chatter became background noise. Nayeon was filling her in on gossip about pretty much everyone they’d ever met. Rosé wasn’t even sure she remembered all these people but she nodded along anyway. She wanted to enjoy being silent while she could, as she knew Nayeon hadn’t asked her to go on this walk so she could talk about other people. Sooner or later, Rosé was sure she was going to be interrogated.

“So,” Nayeon said after finishing a particularly long and complicated story, and Rosé knew the moment had come. “Tell me about you and Jennie.”

Rosé kicked at a pebble on the ground. “What do you wanna know?”

“I don’t know, how about we start with, um, everything?” Nayeon replied. “I don’t know anything about you two, other than that you met her through your parents. But when, where, why? Start there.”

“Well, her mom works with my dad,” Rosé said. “Oh, and with me now, I guess.”

“Oh right, you went to work for dad,” Nayeon said. “How is that? What is it you do, again? Wait, don’t answer that, keep going with the Jennie thing.”

Rosé chuckled. “I’m working in finance. Anyway, Jennie’s mom is Head of Sales. They hosted a dinner party at their house and that’s where I met her.”

“Details!” Nayeon demanded.

“Okay, okay. Well Jennie’s mom came up to me and introduced herself--I knew who she was, of course, but I didn’t know she knew me. I guess my dad told her about me. And then she told me she had a daughter my age and wanted me to meet her, and it was Jennie.”

“Ooh, her mom was on the prowl,” Nayeon said. “Looking for a wife for her daughter. Did you know she was introducing you in, like, a gay way?”

Rosé laughed. “Actually, no!” she said. “I had no idea. I was just happy I had someone else to talk to, that party was so boring. But we had a nice time and she gave me her number. Then later my mom started interrogating me about her and suddenly it all made sense that they’d been trying to set us up.”

“Oh my God, is your mom still obsessed with you guys getting married young?” Nayeon asked. “I thought she got that out of her system with Alice.”

“No, the opposite,” Rosé said. “Alice wouldn’t do it so now I’m her only hope. And also there’s the fact that she’s a huge gold digger and Jennie’s dad owns some kind of, like, cement company.”

“Oh, so that explains the,” Nayeon waved her hands at their surroundings, “this.”

Rosé nodded. “Yep, exactly,” she said. “Anyway, I knew my mom wanted me to ask her out so I wasn’t gonna do it but then,” she shrugged. “Obviously, I did.”

Nayeon chuckled. “Hmm, so you really liked her, huh? What was it? I mean, besides the fact that she’s hot.”

Rosé thought carefully about how to answer. Actually, she remembered very well why she’d decided to text Jennie that day and it had nothing to do with her. She’d stumbled across an Instagram picture of Jisoo and Namjoon that had sent her into a spiral of misery, and after crying for several hours about how she’d never find love she decided to give Jennie a chance. But that wasn’t exactly the romantic story she wanted Nayeon, or Jennie for that matter, to know.

“I mean, she is really hot,” Rosé said. That part, at least, was undeniably true. “And the conversation flowed easily. She made me laugh. She thought the party her parents were throwing was lavish and ridiculous and so did I. We...we view the world in a similar way, I guess.”

“Okay but is there chemistry?” Nayeon asked. 

Not exactly, Rosé thought, today’s activities notwithstanding. “I think so, yeah.”

“You think?” Nayeon shook her head. “I don’t think it works that way, you either do or you don’t.”

“We do,” Rosé said, and something in her voice must have indicated that she was annoyed with the conversation because Nayeon stopped her questioning. For several minutes they walked in silence, tracing out a loop around the hotel’s expansive grounds.

“You know there’s no rush to get married,” Nayeon said after a while.

“You’re only the eightieth person to tell me that,” Rosé said. “Even my dad was like, what? But like, I don’t know, I just kinda don’t wanna wait anymore. I’m so tired of dating.”

“Well, no one likes dating.”

“I feel ready to be married,” Rosé said. “Like, I really, honestly do. I think about the future and I just...I want to just be with one person. I’m done.”

She was aware that this probably wasn’t the romantic gushing that Nayeon had been expecting. But Rosé had never been good at hiding her emotions, especially from Nayeon. That girl had a special ability to get people to confide in her that Rosé would never quite understand.

“It sounds like you know what you want,” Nayeon said. “And that’s all that matters. If you’re happy, that’s the only thing I care about.”

“Thank you,” Rosé said. “I appreciate that.” It was true, she had always known what she wanted. Knowing it wasn’t the hard part. It was the actually having it that had been eluding her.

And as her thoughts turned back to Jisoo, she reflected that something was off with her friend. Every time Rosé had looked at her during dinner--which was, admittedly, a lot of times--Jisoo had seemed only superficially happy. When Rosé had asked about her life, her answers were short and vague. Rosé knew they had a lot to talk about before she could fix things between the two of them, and though she appreciated that Jisoo didn’t want to ruin the weekend with drama, she knew they couldn’t just pretend everything was normal. Sooner or later, they had to talk.

They arrived in a courtyard and Nayeon stopped to pull pennies out of the fountain. Rosé’s eyes wandered up to the second to last window on the top floor, the one that looked into Jennie’s living room. Jennie had been different today, too. Rosé was pretty sure they’d had more sex in the last few hours than throughout their entire relationship. And it had been enjoyable, certainly, but also a little bit strange. Rosé had only extracted herself to go get ready for dinner, and when she came back to walk Jennie downstairs, Jennie had immediately pulled her inside and pressed her against the wall. They’d made out intensely until Rosé realized they were late for dinner and Jennie went to go fix her makeup. Rosé had walked to the window and stared down at the courtyard, right down at the spot where she was standing right now.

She had been thinking about Jisoo then, too. She was always thinking about Jisoo.

Rosé’s thoughts were interrupted when she saw movement in the window. A flash of black hair. Jennie must be back from her run, Rosé thought, and she considered sending her a text. She didn’t really feel like spending the night alone.

And then she saw something else. Jennie was there again, her back to the window. She appeared to be wearing only a t-shirt and panties, the back of her legs on full display.

And someone else’s hands were on her ass.

Rosé watched, dumbfounded, as Jennie and the unseen stranger appeared to be locked in some sort of embrace. She strained her eyes trying to see who it was but she could barely make out anything besides Jennie’s curtain of black hair. After a moment, the stranger seemed to pull her forward and they moved to the side and out of view. Towards the bedroom.

Rosé turned to Nayeon. One look at Nayeon’s face confirmed that her friend had seen what she had just seen. They both started at each other, wide eyed, speechless.

“Ros-” Nayeon began.

“Oh my God.” Rosé moved over to the fountain and collapsed onto the stone ring around it. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees. “Oh my God,” she said again.

Nayeon scrambled over, kneeling on the ground in front of Rosé and taking both of her hands in her own. “Rosie,” she said. “Rosie look at me.”

Rosé didn’t even feel upset; she was in too much shock. She looked up at Nayeon and saw that her friend’s face was full of concern. “Who…” she began. “Who was it?”

Nayeon shook her head. “I don’t know, I couldn’t see.”

“Why would she do this? I...” She looked back up through the window to the empty living room. “I need to go up there.”

“Wait, wait a second,” Nayeon said. “We need to think.” She looked around, as though hoping an answer would appear in front of them.

“I need to go and like--I don’t know, burst into the room maybe, or--”

“Do you have a key?” Nayeon asked. 

Rosé shook her head.

“If you knock, she’ll have time to pull herself together. And then she’s just gonna deny it.”

“Then what do I do!” Rosé asked, her voice coming out much more high pitched than she’d intended.

“Okay, do you remember when Jackson Wang cheated on me?”

Cheated. That’s what was happening to Rosé right now. She was being cheated on. She felt numb.

“Rosie!” Nayeon said. “Keep it together. Listen to me.”

Rosé nodded. “I remember,” she said.

“Okay, I confronted him about it and he denied it for months. Then one day I told him I was going out with friends and would probably crash at their place and what did he do? He invited the skank over, of course.”

“I...I don’t see where you’re going with this.”

“I wasn’t actually going out. It was all a lie, and I came back home and caught him in the act. It was the only thing that finally got him to admit it.”

“So…” Rosé tried to gather her thoughts but everything felt foggy. “You’re saying I should try to catch her. Instead of confronting her.”

“Yeah,” Nayeon said. “I mean, at least that way you’ll be sure.”

“Nayeon, you saw what I saw, right?” Rosé said, her voice shaking slightly. “I think I’m pretty sure.”

“Okay, hear me out,” Nayeon said. “This might be a crazy idea but, if she’s screwing someone today she’s probably gonna be screwing them again tomorrow. What if you hid in her room tomorrow night to catch her?”

“I don’t know,” Rosé said. She pressed her hands against her eyes until she saw fireworks. “It sounds insane.”

“Look, I can tell you exactly what will happen if you go up there right now. The bitch will be long gone and Jennie will tell you’re crazy and make you feel bad for questioning her fidelity. Then somehow you’re gonna start wondering if you imagined the whole thing even though we literally both just saw it with our own two eyes. I’ve been through this all before, okay? You need to trust me.”

Rosé shook her head, her hands still pressed over her eyes. “It’s...it’s different, she’s not like Jackson, you don’t know what she’s going to do.”

“Rosé, I know this is going to be hard to hear, but as your friend I need to tell you so that you don’t get more hurt than you are now. Okay? Look at me.” Rosé lifted her head and looked at Nayeon through blurry eyes. Nayeon took a deep breath. “All cheaters are the same,” she said emphatically. “I learned the hard way, and I don’t want you to go through what I went through okay? I want what’s best for you.”

Rosé nodded slowly. “Maybe…” she said.

“Look at me Rosie. Look into my eyes right now and tell me that you trust me.”

Rosé swallowed hard and looked down at Nayeon. She took a deep breath.

“I trust you.”

()()()

Jennie panted as she dragged herself up the stairs to the sixth floor. She’d just finished a solid three mile run on the treadmill and she was using the stairs as her cool down, but she was starting to wish she’d taken the elevator. Her legs felt like lead and she couldn’t wait to get into her room and into a hot shower. 

She wondered if Rosé would ask her to spend the night. Besides rolling their eyes at the fact that Jennie’s parents had booked separate rooms for them, they hadn’t discussed their sleeping arrangements. In fact, Jennie had only spent the night with Rosé a handful of times before. Work kept them both very busy and their apartments weren’t exactly close.

Their relationship still felt very new--because it is, she reminded herself--and she often found herself wondering what Rosé was thinking. The other girl was often happy and talkative but sometimes, like today, she seemed distant. It didn’t really bother Jennie, who enjoyed having time to herself. She wondered if it should bother her more, but she knew that Rosé would tell her what was up when the time was right.

Jennie arrived at her suite and went to the bedroom, thinking maybe she would flop down on her bed for a few minutes before getting into the shower.

Unfortunately, her bed was already occupied.

“Oh my GOD!” Jennie clapped her hands over her eyes, but it was too late. The image of one of her best friends sprawled on her bed with her other best friend’s head between her legs was already imprinted into her mind. “What the hell are you two doing?”

“What does it look like?” Seulgi asked smugly. Jennie cracked an eye open and saw that Irene was frantically pulling on her panties. She quickly shut her eyes again.

“I thought you said she was gonna be gone for forty-five minutes!” Irene hissed.

“She always runs three miles. It’s not my fault she’s gotten faster.”

“I can hear you guys,” Jennie said. “You better explain yourselves right now.”

“Don’t worry, baby,” Seulgi said to Irene. “Jennie just hasn’t gotten her pussy eaten recently.”

“Yes I have!” she said. “I got it eaten earlier today!”

She realized her statement hadn’t had the desired effect when Seulgi and Irene immediately started cackling.

“Whatever!” she said, her cheeks growing hot. “That’s not the point. I know what you’re doing, but why are you doing it in my room?”

“Because Irene said your room was probably nicer than ours and we wanted to come check.”

“It is, by the way,” Irene said. “You can open your eyes now.” Jennie opened her eyes and saw that Irene was thankfully dressed, and at least had the decency to look embarrassed. Both girls sat on the edge of her bed, looking up at her.

“You two are disgusting. How did you get in here, anyway?” 

“Stole your spare key,” Seulgi said. “While you were staring at Liiiiisa.”

Jennie stomach did a backflip. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

Seulgi looked at Irene. “See, I told you.”

“Told her what?” Jennie’s heart was pounding in her chest.

Irene looked back at Seulgi. “Well, maybe.”

“Tell me!” Jennie demanded.

“Okay, calm down,” Seulgi said. “I was just telling Irene that you got weird when I mentioned Lisa earlier.”

“Weird how?” Jennie asked.

“Jennie, there’s nothing wrong with looking at a girl,” Irene said. 

“Unless it’s more than that,” Seulgi added, and Jennie didn’t like the way Seulgi was looking at her as she spoke.

Jennie narrowed her eyes. “I still don’t know what you two are talking about,” she said. “And looking at someone doesn’t mean I’m, you know, _looking_.”

“Course it doesn’t,” Seulgi said. “Unless you get weird when I mention that you’re looking. Then I know that you’re _looking_.”

“Ugh.” Jennie crossed the room to the armchair and collapsed into it. “Don’t you two have some unfinished business?” she asked with slight annoyance. “Is bothering me really more fun than sex?”

“I can’t believe you’d even have to ask that,” Seulgi said. “Of course it is.”

“But since we have you alone,” Irene said, “we kinda wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?” Jennie asked.

“We were wondering…” she began. She looked at Seulgi. Both seemed to want the other to speak first. Eventually Seulgi gave in.

“How much do you know about Rosé?”

Jennie looked at them with narrowed eyes. “I know enough...why?”

“How long has it been since you started dating?”

Jennie thought about it a minute. “Four months.”

Her friends said nothing.

“Look, I know it’s fast but we both know what we want. And I don’t really have time to date around.”

“Listen Jen,” Seulgi said. “Your fianceé is really cute and her family is super rich and all that. But…”

“But we know how your parents can be,” Irene finished. “We just wanna make sure you’re doing this for yourself, not for them.”

“You guys,” Jennie said. “I’m not gonna go get married just because my parents want me to. I am my own person, you know.”

“Did you parents introduce you to Rosé?” Seulgi challenged.

“Well, yes,” Jennie said. “But that doesn’t mean she’s not right for me.”

“How could you know if she’s right for you? You barely even know her!”

“Look,” Irene said as Jennie and Seulgi glared at each other. “That’s not the point. No one is saying there’s anything wrong with Rosé or how you met her. We just want to make sure you aren’t rushing into marriage.”

“Yeah, like you can totally still marry Rosé at some point,” Seulgi said. “Just, maybe date her for a while first. And then you can be really sure that she’s the one.”

“I understand what you guys are saying,” Jennie said. “But I am sure. So there’s no point in waiting.”

“You’re sure that your parents approve. That doesn’t mean you’re sure this is a good idea,” Seulgi pointed out.

Jennie didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Seulgi knew that she was right.

“Okay,” Irene said after a moment of silence. “We’ll let you shower and stuff. Sleep well, Jennie.” She and Irene got up to leave the room. Seulgi paused at the door.

“We just want you to be happy, Jen, that’s all that matters to us. Okay?”

Jennie nodded. “I know,” she said.

They left and Jennie headed to the shower. As she stood under the hot water, she reminisced about being there earlier with Rosé. She’d been trying not to think about how Lisa had briefly popped into her mind. It was a fluke; just something that had happened because she’d been looking at Lisa right before. But then at dinner she showed up in that cute little dress and Jennie had found herself staring again. There was just something about Lisa that got into her head; she was unlike any of the people Jennie normally hung out with. Yes, that had to be it, maybe she just wanted to get to know Lisa better in a completely platonic way. And separately, she admired Lisa’s beauty. But it didn’t have to mean anything. It didn’t mean anything.

After her shower, Jennie sent Rosé a text asking her if she wanted to come over and then lay down in her bed, thinking she would rest her eyes for a few minutes. 

The next time she woke up, it was morning.


End file.
